


some organs are better left alone...or are they?

by DS_ds



Series: psychedelic hearts [2]
Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, Pregnancy, School Project, awkward shirbert moment, biology and anatomy, no kiss sorry!, psychedellic hearts, season 3 ep. 5 spoiler, some other charcs are also briefly mentioned, wild theories based on promo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 09:36:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21134573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DS_ds/pseuds/DS_ds
Summary: Ms Stacy was so worried about evident gaps in curriculum that led Ruby to her fearful beliefs on biology, so she designed a school project to help bridge this gap. Gilbert thinks  Anne could do with some extra work on the subject.





	some organs are better left alone...or are they?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anbethmarie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anbethmarie/gifts).

> This is an extended reply to anbethmarie question on what theories we may have about psychedelic hearts background. Thank you for pointing out this promo to me. Let me gift you this series in exchange.
> 
> Hope you all guys there enjoy it before we learn the canon reply in the next episode.
> 
> For this shot:  
There is the anatomical topic implied here but really there is nothing more than you learn from the episode so no warnings apply (i mean where i am from nobody would bother anyway but who knows about other locations? anyway, no worries)  
Yes, I am mean for Charlie as a revenge for his silliness.  
Winnie haters, sorry to dissappoint you, she is a background character here but still nice.

Ms Stacy was often annoyed at the narrow-minded beliefs of some of her pupils’ parents. Today she was simply angry at mrs Gillis for filling Ruby with all that rubbish about touching a boy and pregnancy. Propriety is one thing but such misleading she couldn’t comprehend. She wanted so badly to do something constructive and properly clarifying yet she feared her position was not yet firm enough to broach such potentially sensitive subjects as human reproduction in class, even with older ones only. She thought it over in the afternoons that followed, while repainting her upstairs spare bedroom, and finally came up with an idea. Maybe not a straight answer to Ruby’s issue but still a step in the right direction for curious minds she hoped and believed most of her students possessed. It would need a lot of preparations though...

***

On the next day, just when she was about to dismiss the class, she looked up and said „Gilbert, could you please stay a few minutes, I need to discuss something with you?”. Seeing him nod, she added the regular „class is dismissed for today, enjoy you afternoon”. All students rushed outside, eager to pursue whatever plans they had for the day. Gilbert stayed behind and approached the teacher’s desk slowly.

Ms Stacy never beat about the bush.

-Gilbert, I may need you help. Let me elaborate a bit. Do you recall how Ruby refused dancing at the rehearsal?  
-Yes, madam.  
-I happened to learn the reason behind it from the girls and frankly it worried me no end. See, apparently Ruby was told at home she could become pregnant upon touching a boy’s hand. This...  
She stopped seeing Gilberts’ eyes widen a bit and then him clearing his throat.  
-Is anything the matter? - she asked.  
-Well, the girls accosted me after church...seeing as I practice with doctor Ward...with the question if being intelligent or emotional disrupts female ability to have children...  
-See? - ms Stacy chimed in - it only further proves the point I am trying to make. I feel the current curriculum certainly lacks parts on human biology. It is one thing to be proper or modest but a completely different one to be ignorant on the border of ridiculousness...- she finished hotly.  
-Yes, madam.  
\- Therefore I have this little idea of mine of a project we could run in class. You know there is a county fair planned for next month? They often have freak shows and such at those events but what if this time the class worked on setting up a science pavilion that would show chosen aspects of human anatomy and wonderful ways it works? That would certainly be instructive and hopefully fun. What do you think?  
-It would be fun for sure. And maybe spare me answering some questions? - he smiled.  
\- Well - she added - we will probably stay away from reproductory system this time, seeing as the fair will be attended by wide range of people and kids, but we could certainly find interesting ways to tell the story of bones, muscles, heart, stomach and so on. I have some books of my own we can work from, but perhaps you could add some more from your side or borrow a few from doctor Ward for a short period of time for class preparation? Or maybe even some recent papers you would find appropriate for the subject? Nothing too heavy but just to highlight recent developments.  
-Of course ms Stacy, I will see what I can do.

***

-May I have you attention please, class? - Ms Stacy asked a few days later, armed with a huge pile of books and reading materials. She then proceeded to explain to them her idea (omitting mrs Gillis part in it) and saw to her relief that most were indeed interested, curious, already brimming with questions or - in one easily foreseeable case - positively enraptured. 

-Please, split into pairs and come pick a piece of paper from this hat here. It will give you an organ I wish you to prepare an exhibition about for the fair. Then come to get some readings and start by reading up on a subject. We will be working on it twice weekly in class for the upcoming weeks but you are free to do any extra work at home of course. Plan it so that each pair will set up a stall with their exhibition in a huge tent we will decorate together - she finished.

***

Anne watched with interest her peers’ reactions to the body parts they were allotted for the project...how Charlie’s face fell when he read ‚spleen’ on his piece and how Josie glared at ‚ear’ (oh, irony! Josie for sure could do with more listening than wagging her tongue). But then she squealed with excitement as Diana came back with a ‚hand’ in her hand and forgot all around her as they busied themselves with researching.  
-Oh, Diana, look at this picture. Do you think we could somehow come up with a real size model for all those little bones? Maybe Cole could spare some time and fix us something in clay? Or - her eyes widened even further in remembrance of a place she visited recently - maybe I could ask Winnifred if mr Bones could lend us a hand? - she giggled.  
-Oh, Anne! - Diana squealed as well, looking up from an important looking medical paper she was reading - look! there is something special for you! There is this guy in Germany, called Roentgen, who discovered some rays just few years back. Apparently they allow you to make a photograph of a person where only bones show up...and the first such photo ever was a hand of his wife Anna Bertha!...

The class worked hard for a month. In the end they set up the tent and prepared decorations together but each pair was left free to prepare their stall as a surprise so they could all get some fun from visiting during the fair as well.

***

The day of the fair finally came. And among all attractions was the school science exhibition, largely popular among the visitors. Ms Stacy could certainly be proud - thought Anne walking from stall to stall. True, Charlie’s spleen one was a bit gloomy...but Moody’s pair set up a banjo as a model for voice strings and small kids were just so excited to try it on...Josie somehow managed a real trumpet and snail for her ear one...hers and Diana’s has a whole story of how upper limbs evolved from fish onward and mr Bones kindly obliged giving his handshake to all willing (quietly supervised by a chuckling Winnie who thought this one certainly made up for some visitors for the missing ghost ride)...and maybe best of all Tillie and Paul sacrificed half of their fair time each and in turn dressed up as a red and a white cell of blood and paraded around the stall curtsying to everybody. This was even better than the wild mean crab of mr Lynde.

Anne finally left the pavilion and stood for a moment outside, just to breathe some fresh air after being cooped inside a tent for so long. When she noticed in her periphery vision Gilbert coming out of the tent as well and stopping quietly next to her she turned politely to him and saw him give the pavilion entrance a big smirk.  
\- Looks to me we miss Cole a lot when it comes to decorations...not that I deny Jane and Ruby the talent.  
-And perhaps Billy could explain to them the heart looks a bit different - Anne added with a smile creeping on her face as well.  
\- Yeah, well...- Gilbert shifted his weight a bit from one leg to the other - uhm...Anne, just as we are on the subject, seeing you were all eager for the information back then when you girls interrogated me at church steps... - Gilbert blushed a bit but persistently went on - well, I mean miss Stacy left some body systems out of the exhibition on purpose...not to scare mrs Lynde and her cronies I guess...yeah, so I took the liberty of borrowing one more book on anatomy from dr Ward and left it for you at Green Gables today before I went to the fair...so you can find answers on your own really...I packed it in brown paper for Marilla’s sake - he added quickly seeing Anne’s frightened expression - although I guess she would be more open than mrs Gillis...

Anne caught her breath but it seemed Gilbert attributed all their curiosity to Ruby’s revelations only. Oh the relief, she felt silly enough already at the thought of the mouse incident two years ago. For now she chose to be simply elated at having been offered the new book to read. 

-And then you can find a way with words that come so easily to you to relieve the fears of the other girls perhaps? - Gilbert added - so you don’t need to resort to asking me...not that I mind too much - he added politely - although maybe not at church steps - he chuckled.

Anne found out her curiosity was stronger than her understandable shyness of the implied topic itself.

\- Gilbert - she started - when we asked you your opinion, you said ‚from what I have seen’...ehm... - her voice trailed off as she blushed.

\- Yeah, well, see...obstetrics is also a part of dr Ward’s job of course, quite happy part most of the time...- he cleared his throat - by the way have I ever told you how the idea of being a doctor came to me?

And there in front of the biology pavilion Anne heard for the first time the exciting and wonderful tale of Bash and Gilbert in Trinidad, of Ruth and her situation, of difficult labour in the abandoned ramshackle hut, of the wonderful happiness in the eyes of the new mother despite the poor surroundings...And she watched with smile how equally wonderful happiness showed in Gilbert’s eyes as he narrated the joys of helping a human being, and she knew that whatever doubts he had after Mary’s departure, he will come in the end where his passion leads him. Yes, good doctor, you will get there one day.


End file.
